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This article said that scientists at Harvard University have performed one of the world’s most precious chemical reaction. The author states that they successfully stuck together two atoms from elements that wouldn't normally form a molecule (sodium and caesium). The scientist believe that this will be able to form materials that can use to make more advanced technology in the future.

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Siovan G.

4/16/2018 07:15:42 pm

This short article is about a video which showcases the beauty of chemical reactions. The video has multiple sections each highlighting a different outcome of a reaction and it truly is stunning to see the beauty chemicals. The "Precipitation" section of the video reminded me of the deepest depths of the ocean where it is pitch black and there are brightly-coloured sea creatures which are odd, but nonetheless beautiful.
(https://www.vox.com/2014/10/8/6946177/watch-beautiful-chemical-reactions-scored-to-chill-music)

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Jayanti U

4/19/2018 07:01:00 am

This website lists the 10 most important lab safety rules. The first one on the list is to follow instructions. It is very important to read all the instructions before conducting a lab. Otherwise, the lab may be ruined and you may get injured.
To find out about more lab safety rules, follow this website:
https://www.thoughtco.com/important-lab-safety-rules-608156

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Tariq Z.

4/19/2018 05:51:37 pm

This article exemplifies the level of technology that science as given us, as scientists have achieved record-breaking precision of any chemical reaction, composed of the elements sodium and caesium, which do not normally form a molecule. The reaction, to the interest of the of the experimenters, yielded an alloy-like molecule. The procedure is called the “stochastic” method, involving the use of laser “tweezers” to maximize the contact between the two atoms, then adding a photon to complete the bond and form the molecule.

This website provides 10 experiments gone wrong, the first one being an experiment entitled Biosphere 2. This was an experiment conducted in 1991 where 5 scientists lived in isolation in a self sustaining biosphere. However, the experiment was corrupted and shut down when one of the participants had to leave because they got injured, and when they came back, they brought back a big bag which people speculated was a bag of supplies. Later on, other discrepancies were found. The scientists had stated that the facility was air tight and that all the oxygen they received was from the plants, but later on it was discovered that they used a CO2 scrubber for oxygen.
http://eskify.com/10-deadly-science-experiments-gone-wrong/

Scientists have created a deep learning computer program to create blueprints for chemical reactions and creating organic molecules. The program analyzes molecules by working backwards to see how it was formed, and what reaction it underwent. This program is said to speed up discoveries in the field of organic chemistry, and makes things such as drug research much easier

In this comic, the boy asks why goldfish are the colour gold, and the other one replies, "So they won't rust.". His response connects to how iron and other metal alloys containing iron will rust, yet some metals, such as gold and silver, won't. Gold doesn't react with oxygen the same way iron does, so there won't be a "gold oxide" the same way there is an iron oxide.
Reference: https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/chemical_reaction.asp

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Campbell W

4/20/2018 08:36:08 pm

This article talks about two new chemical reactions that were not mentioned in class, a neutralization reaction and a redox (Oxidation-Reduction) reaction. A neutralization reaction is the reaction between an acid and a base giving salt and water as the products. A redox reaction is a is a reaction in which there is a transfer of electrons between chemical species. It also gives definitions and examples for other types of chemical reactions, along with some tips to remember.

https://byjus.com/chemistry/chemical-reactions/

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Shridula K

4/21/2018 07:19:12 am

I found this article that talks about examples of chemical reactions in everyday life. It mentioned some obvious ones, like photosynthesis, and also some that we mentioned in class like the creation of rust and combustion (e.g when you light a match). However, it also talked about things like soaps and detergents, and since I had never really thought about soap using chemical reactions to clean things, I found it interesting how often chemical reactions actually happen around us.

This article talks about the findings of scientists at Harvard University. Their experiment was a demonstration of a chemical reaction being deterministically controlled. Normally, reactions happen through random collisions of particles so bringing atoms together, making and breaking bonds, and shuffling of electrons depend on probability. However, these scientists used two atoms, one sodium atom and one caesium atom, and trapped them in a vacuum chamber so that diffusion and nature didn't affect it. Using a photon, the scientists were able to bring the two atoms together to create a molecule. This alloy of two alkali metals suggest that other bi-atomic molecules can be created. These molecules exist in a quantum state, which could possibly make them useful for bits in a computer (qubits).

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Joshua M.

4/21/2018 09:48:06 am

This article discusses how there can be another type of basic reaction added to the current list of 36, because of researchers at MIT and the University of Minnesota. The reaction is said to play an important part of the atmospheric reactions that lead to the formation of climate-affecting aerosols, biochemical reactions that may be important for human psychology, and combustion reactions in engines. The reaction was described as a low-temperature oxidation that results in the decomposition of complex organic molecules know as gamma-ketohydroperoxides. The process is also related to oxidations in the body, contributing to the tissue damage and aging that antioxidant vitamins seek to combat.

I found this website that explained the chemical reactions we learned in class a bit more and provided more examples. It also gave some alternate names for some of the reactions, for example single replacement reactions can also be referred to as substitution.

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Mohammed E

4/21/2018 04:16:05 pm

I have found a few interesting facts about chemical reactions:
-Greek philosophers described the theories of transformation by stating that the substance was composed for four elements. Those were earth, air, water and fire.
-Protein enzymes are often used as the catalyst (a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change) during the chemical reaction inside the body of the living organisms.
-Breaking the bonds of the atoms will be easier to do when it has more thermal energy or heat.

Source:
http://factfile.org/10-facts-about-chemical-reactions

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Timothy I.

4/21/2018 04:29:42 pm

https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-chemical-reactions-in-everyday-life-604049
This website lists some examples of chemical reactions in our everyday life. It explains the chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis, cellular respiration, combustion and rust formation, for example. The reactions I found most interesting, were the ones involving soaps and cooking. Soaps and detergents clean with chemical reactions. By emulsifying grime, oily stains bind to soap and then can be lifted away by water. On the other hand, detergents lower the surface tension of water, therefore it can then interact, isolate, and rinse away oils. With heat, cooking food causes chemical changes. For example, when browning meat or baked goods a maillard reaction between amino acids and sugars gives the food a brown colour and a nice taste.

As I was making breakfast this morning, making my usual scrambled eggs, I had no clue what to write for this blog, but I looked down and saw my eggs that were slowly cooking. Then it dawned on me that I must write about how eggs can go through a chemical reaction. For example, when you heat an egg, the egg-white proteins move around due to the intense heat and bounce around and connect to other proteins which creates a "protein web" that traps the water. The chemical makeup is changed in this example which allows me to conclude that there was a chemical change.

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Pat M.

4/21/2018 06:16:44 pm

Here's an article that talks about the world's most precisely controlled chemical reaction. Scientists have just stuck together two atoms of elements that wouldn't normally form a molecule, sodium and caesium. The two elements are both found in the same group on the periodic table which means they don't tend to bond as a molecule. That doesnt mean it's impossible though, if these two atoms happen to be close enough with the right energy a connection can form. The scientists used lasers to manipulate the individual atoms into close proximity, and they provided a photon to help them bond into a single molecule. This method of creation could be the key to the kind of materials we might need in future technology.

In 2009, a documentary entitled “A Chemical Reaction” was produced by Brett Plymale, showcased the journey of a banning case of pesticides/herbicides. It starts off with a dermatologist by the name of Dr. June Irwin, who noticed her patients’ health problems were linked to pesticides/herbicides put into their lawns and foods. This led her to proceed with a towns meeting to express her concerns for the health of her patients and the people of the town. This impacted the town, leading them to take legal action for the protection of the citizens but this led to conflicts with chemical companies. Due to the complications, the case was passed to the Supreme Court, in which gained hug media coverage. Although this doesn’t entirely relate to the stuff we’ve been learning, it still teaches us the side affects of certain chemical compounds in pesticides that affect our health severely.

In this study, scientists were studying the creation of gold nano particles. Gold nano particles are really useful in a variety of applications: bio-imaging, drug delivery, toxic gas detection and biosensors. Currently, the only way to create gold nano particles was by decomposition of reactants: using gold precursor chloroauric acid with a reducing agent such as sodium borohydride. This reaction transfers electrons from the reducing agent to the chloroauric acid, which frees the gold atoms in the process.

The scientists at Stanford decided to test this reaction at the micro droplet scale instead of at large solution volumes, since it was proven that the reaction would happen faster at a smaller scale. In fact, it was 100,000 times faster! However, this was not the largest surprise. The most intriguing thing, was that when they replaced the reducing agent with plain old water, gold nano particles were fused! If this process was refined and tested more, this allows the creation of gold nano particles to be free of reducing agents that could be toxic and harmful to the environment. This also shows that even though right now, we balance equations and predict types of reactions, but there's much more to it as even the size of the reaction can change the whole outcome of the product.

Interested? Check it out here:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419134656.htm

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Nour B

4/21/2018 08:24:21 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd1alir07q4

Combustion is vital in our everyday lives. We use combustion to fuel our cars, heat stoves, power electricity, heat our homes, power rockets and airplanes. In all of these cases, we burn a fuel, whether that is a hydrogen fuel, fossil fuels, or wood. In a chemical reaction, there is always going to be a fuel, as well as oxygen on the reactant side. This can produce light, heat, or sound energy. This also produces wastes, such as CO2 and H2O that is released into the atmosphere. Each reactions occurs at different rates. For example, oxygen and hydrogen molecules are present, the reaction occurs in a split second, causing an explosion.

In this website, many different and cool chemical reactions are listed and explained. My favorites were the synthesis of nitrogen triioxide (looks like fairy dust), hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide (elephant toothpaste), the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Oscillating reaction (hypnotizing acid), and the Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Clock reaction (colorful hurricane). Try out the website and find your own favorites!

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Anumita J

4/22/2018 08:55:27 am

https://www.lifepersona.com/30-chemical-reactions-of-daily-life

This link talks about chemistry in every day life. It specifically covers different chemical reactions (with the exception of a few) that occur in our daily life such as digestion or aerobic respiration . It provides the chemical equation for some and explains the chemistry behind all the examples. I thought this was interesting and useful because it relates chemical reactions back to our daily lives.

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